2018 Can-Am 500
# 2018 Can-Am 500

The 2018 Can-Am 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 11, 2018, at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 35th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8.

## Report

### Background

ISM Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.

ISM Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. The track is both the first and last stop in the western United States, as well as the fourth and penultimate track on the schedule.

**Entry list**

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 7 | D. J. Kennington (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| 97 | Tanner Berryhill | Obaika Racing | Toyota |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Erik Jones was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 26.113 seconds and a speed of 137.862 mph (221.867 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.113 | 137.862 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.120 | 137.825 |
| 3 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.122 | 137.815 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 25.836 and a speed of 139.340 mph (224.246 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 26.158 | 25.998 | 25.836 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.257 | 25.823 | 25.871 |
| 3 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 26.176 | 26.017 | 25.898 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 26.317 | 26.011 | 25.924 |
| 5 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.335 | 25.979 | 25.948 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.176 | 25.889 | 25.954 |
| 7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.201 | 25.981 | 26.022 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 26.226 | 25.887 | 26.038 |
| 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 26.183 | 26.020 | 26.039 |
| 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.253 | 25.926 | 26.040 |
| 11 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 26.228 | 25.958 | 26.108 |
| 12 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 26.199 | 26.019 | 26.150 |
| 13 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 26.290 | 26.023 | — |
| 14 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 26.174 | 26.053 | — |
| 15 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 26.099 | 26.074 | — |
| 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 26.244 | 26.110 | — |
| 17 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 26.028 | 26.131 | — |
| 18 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 26.282 | 26.140 | — |
| 19 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.195 | 26.162 | — |
| 20 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.234 | 26.174 | — |
| 21 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 26.232 | 26.176 | — |
| 22 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 26.255 | 26.212 | — |
| 23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 26.231 | 26.313 | — |
| 24 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 26.321 | 26.368 | — |
| 25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 26.342 | — | — |
| 26 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.368 | — | — |
| 27 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 26.487 | — | — |
| 28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 26.516 | — | — |
| 29 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 26.539 | — | — |
| 30 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.560 | — | — |
| 31 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 26.614 | — | — |
| 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 26.834 | — | — |
| 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.970 | — | — |
| 34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.001 | — | — |
| 35 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 27.010 | — | — |
| 36 | 97 | Tanner Berryhill | Obaika Racing | Toyota | 27.231 | — | — |
| 37 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 27.457 | — | — |
| 38 | 7 | D. J. Kennington (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.666 | — | — |
| 39 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 0.000 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)

### Second practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.724 seconds and a speed of 134.710 mph (216.795 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 26.724 | 134.710 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 26.730 | 134.680 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 26.770 | 134.479 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.642 seconds and a speed of 135.125 mph (217.463 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 26.642 | 135.125 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 26.769 | 134.484 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.804 | 134.308 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 75

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage 2 Laps: 75

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 162

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 54 |
| 2 | 12 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 312 | 50 |
| 3 | 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 45 |
| 4 | 18 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 312 | 34 |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 312 | 39 |
| 6 | 21 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 31 |
| 7 | 17 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 312 | 30 |
| 8 | 15 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 35 |
| 9 | 19 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 30 |
| 10 | 30 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 27 |
| 11 | 22 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 26 |
| 12 | 24 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 25 |
| 13 | 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 32 |
| 14 | 13 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 312 | 31 |
| 15 | 20 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 22 |
| 16 | 23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 311 | 21 |
| 17 | 7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 310 | 23 |
| 18 | 25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 19 |
| 19 | 28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 18 |
| 20 | 31 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 310 | 17 |
| 21 | 27 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 310 | 16 |
| 22 | 29 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 15 |
| 23 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 309 | 28 |
| 24 | 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 309 | 0 |
| 25 | 34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 309 | 12 |
| 26 | 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 308 | 0 |
| 27 | 38 | 7 | D. J. Kennington (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 306 | 0 |
| 28 | 39 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 306 | 9 |
| 29 | 11 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 303 | 8 |
| 30 | 5 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 285 | 9 |
| 31 | 36 | 97 | Tanner Berryhill | Obaika Racing | Toyota | 283 | 6 |
| 32 | 14 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 272 | 12 |
| 33 | 3 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 262 | 4 |
| 34 | 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 237 | 15 |
| 35 | 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 133 | 2 |
| 36 | 26 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 96 | 1 |
| 37 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 95 | 1 |
| 38 | 35 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 88 | 0 |
| 39 | 37 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 40 | 0 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 8 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 10 for 61
* Red flags: 1 for 16 minutes and 24 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 10 minutes and 20 seconds
* Average speed: 98.354 miles per hour (158.285 km/h)

## Media

### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two–time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and three-time Phoenix winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

NBC :

| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

MRN :

| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - | - |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dan Hubbard Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post Kim Coon |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 1 | Joey Logano | 5,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Kyle Busch | 5,000 (–0) |
| 1 | 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 5,000 (–0) |
| | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 5,000 (–0) |
| 1 | 5 | Chase Elliott | 2,320 (–2,680) |
| 1 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 2,318 (–2,682) |
| | 7 | Aric Almirola | 2,316 (–2,684) |
| 2 | 8 | Brad Keselowski | 2,309 (–2,691) |
| | 9 | Ryan Blaney | 2,278 (–2,722) |
| 2 | 10 | Kyle Larson | 2,256 (–2,744) |
| | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 2,252 (–2,748) |
| 4 | 12 | Clint Bowyer | 2,242 (–2,758) |
| 3 | 13 | Austin Dillon | 2,219 (–2,781) |
| | 14 | Jimmie Johnson | 2,217 (–2,783) |
| 2 | 15 | Erik Jones | 2,207 (–2,793) |
| 1 | 16 | Alex Bowman | 2,196 (–2,804) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Ford | 1,270 |
| | 2 | Toyota | 1,251 (–19) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 1,157 (–113) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||
